Another weekend... another hike!

This afternoon I got back from my Junior League provisional retreat weekend up in Winter Park.  We stayed at the YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch.  We did a service project, learned about Junior League, and made some new friends :)  I'm looking forward to being involved with an organization that focuses on improving the condition of women and children by investing in community projects and giving back almost 30,000 of volunteer hours a year.. just here in Denver! 

Here's the view from the ranch:

The Aspen trees are turning gold... and Jason and I are hoping to take a fall drive to experience "the gold rush" next weekend.

This afternoon we visited the farmer's market and found 5 for $1 green peppers and picked up zucchini and eggplant for dinners this week.  LOVE the fall pumpkins added to the farmer's market scenery. 

We grabbed quick "Supreme Grilled Cheese" sandwiches for lunch (including some green pepper, tomato, and turkey - yum!) 

and then headed out to hit the trails.   Today we went out to Deer Creek Canyon.  This open space park is super close to us- only about a 10 minute drive and has some great trails.  We only did about a 3 mile hike today - The Meadowlark Trail up and the Plymouth Trail back down.  

We did run into a little trouble along the way back down.... can you spot him?! 

A rattle snake!  Jason was brave enough to stick around for a photo- I rushed by and hurried down the trail with Hubble.  He was LOUD!  You could hear him rattling before we rounded the corner to see him.  Some mountain bikers were the original discoverers... we could hear them freaking out about 200 yards up the trail. 

For dinner Jason is making Baked BBQ Chicken and Potatoes-  can't wait to try it (pics to come tomorrow) while I blog ( & apply for jobs) on the porch with this beautiful sunset!

  The other night we had these interesting little guys.  Santa Fe Foldovers.  They were.... just OK.  But- here's the recipe! 

Santa Fe Folder
1 cup Bisquick Heart Smart® mix
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1/4 cup very hot water
1 cup canned no-salt-added black beans, drained, rinsed
1/3 cup Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa
2 tablespoons sliced green onions (2 medium)
1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend (1 oz)
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
1/3 cup chopped tomato
3 tablespoons fat-free sour cream

• Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray.
• 2 In small bowl, stir Bisquick® mix, cornmeal and very hot water until soft dough forms. 
• Place on surface sprinkled with Bisquick mix, gently rolling to coat. 
• Shape into ball; knead about 5 times or until smooth. 
• Roll dough into 10-inch circle; fold into fourths.  Unfold on pizza pan. 
• In small bowl, stir together beans and salsa; spread over dough to within 2 inches of edge. Sprinkle with onions. Fold edge over. Sprinkle cheese over beans.
• 
• 3 Bake 25 to 28 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Top with remaining ingredients.

Chief Mountain Hike

Today we hiked the Chief Mountain Trail.  The drive up from Evergreen was gorgeous!

Hubble was loving the wind in his face!  We went from 70 degrees down to 47! 

  

To find the trail you take Evergreen Parkway/Hwy 74 to Colorado 103/Squaw Pass Road towards Mt. Evans/Echo Lake.  After turning onto Squaw Pass Road, drive 12(ish) miles til you reach Echo Mtn Ski Resort.  The trail head is about 0.6 miles past the ski resort entrance.  Parking on the right, trail head on the left side of the road.  When you park, you'll see a ski lift downhill from the pull-off.

  Here's Jason and Hubble at the trail head.

Distance: 3 miles roundtrip and add another 0.2 for climbing the rocks at the top
Elevation Gain: 900-1,100 feet 

Highest elevation: 11,710 feet.

 The views on the way up and at the summit were BEAUTIFUL!  We had a very clear day so you could see Pikes Peak (zoom couldn't quite get it on the camera) and Mt Evans to the South, and Longs Peak to the North.

Hubble was almost falling off the mountain at this point.  He kept sliding further down the rock! He's a little to curious for his own good.

 

You might be able to see Longs Peak behind us?  Not exactly sure which one that is.. but I know its in that direction :) 

 

Mt Evans behind us 

 

Squaw Pass Road & Mt Evans

 

Lounging at the Summit

 

Woohoo we made it! 11,710 feet!  Next stop... 14er!

Beautiful day for a hike!  I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone.  It's a little bit of a drive up, but then only about 3 miles hiking round trip!  We stopped at the top for awhile for some Backpacker Bars and to enjoy the view, so our trip took about 2 1/2 hrs for us. 

Yesterday I shared the recipe for the Backpacker Bars - we enjoyed these at the summit, hiding behind the rocks to block the wind.  They were a great snack for the trip!

Tonight we went over to some friends for dinner that also live in Highlands Ranch.  They treated us to yummy Chicken Enchiladas & Southwestern Salad and asked us only to bring dessert so I whipped up a nice fall treat.  It was a little sweet- so I would recommend cutting the sugars back a little bit on the apples.  Served with french vanilla ice cream- mmmmm.... I guess I am ready for fall!

Recipe: Fall in to Fall Apple Crisp

Filling 3 large apples, peeled, coarsely chopped (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine, cut into small pieces

Topping
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

• 1 Heat oven to 300°F. Spray bottom and sides of 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, toss filling ingredients. Spread mixture in baking dish.
• 2 In same large bowl, stir cookie mix and melted butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling.
• 3 Bake 40 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with pecans. Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Fireworks & Friends

Love some Valley Girl time in Denver!  We met up with Ash, Kar, Abe and some other great new friends last night for the Rockies Game.  Guess what the score was...  Go ahead... What do you think? 

It was 1-9!  I mean, come on Rockies- this was our last visit to watch you this season, you had over 47,000 fans in the stands and you only got ONE RUN?!?!

Good thing the FIREWORKS made up for it!  Still smilin!

After the game we headed over to Brothers (yes, same as IA City!) This one has a great Firepit on the patio that we hogged for a few hours.  Jason and Ash split The Ultimate BLT sandwich.  Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayo, Cheese & a Fried Egg.  Jason recreated one for me for lunch today- very yummy!

To close out the night we ran into this sign on the way home and had to send it to Erica.... can't wait for the little Wieners to arrive someday! :) Even if it is a couple of years from now...  

Today has been a day of cleaning, errands, and baking!


Highlights of Cleaning... our new comforter and pillow shams! (AND coffee Breaks! :)
Thanks to Pottery Barn clearance... Love it!

Highlights of Errands... the Ranch!

On my way to the library today I ran into these guys.  This is why I love Highlands Ranch.  It really is a RANCH!  These guys were hanging out in the pasture next to our library.

 

Highlights from Baking... Backpacker Bars!  

Part of my baking today was in prep for our hike near Evergreen tomorrow.  Recipe compliments of Betty Crocker.com   They are almost homemade granola/protein bars... with some added sugar and chocolate :)  Jason convinced me to add just a little Whey protein in them, so we'll pretend they are healthier than they probably really are.

Backpacker Bar

1 1/2 cups Golden Grahams® cereal

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

3/4 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped peanuts

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

• Heat oven to 350ºF. Crush cereal. Mix sugars, butter, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cereal, 3/4 cup oats, the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir in 3/4 cup of the peanuts and 2/3 cup of the chocolate chips.  
• Spread in ungreased rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup peanuts, remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons oats.

  

• Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 1 hour. For 24 bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.

 I think they will be the perfect snack at the summit of Chief Mountain tomorrow! 

Come Back Summer!

Yesterday it was... 80 degrees & Sunshine.

Today =

54°F (12°C)

Overcast

Come Back Summer!

I'm not quite ready for this rain/cold yet.  I'm sure I'll be ready for ski season soon enough. Just not yet!  Luckily the temps are supposed to return to the upper 70's & 80's for the weekend.  Yipee!  

Since today isn't especially the greatest day, I'm hiding out inside updating my resume (yeah, fun), heading out to Yoga for some Sun Salutations, and wishing I was here....

 Santorini Greece.
This was one of the stops on our honeymoon cruise through the Mediterranean last summer. 

 So Beautiful

 So Peaceful

So Romantic!

This was probably my favorite stop on the cruise (they were all great).  I would love to go back and spend ALL of our time in Santorini.  We toured and tasted at a winery, had apps & drinks on the cliffs, and admired the white wash homes. Awww....  It was hard to choose just a few pics to post!

More Z

 Just as I promised... one more Zucchini recipe. 

We just bought one at the farmer's market but I also got a batch of  Zucchini Bread Muffins out of it!  

Continue trend of domestic-ness!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups - Shredded Zucchini

3 - Eggs

1 cup - Vegetable Oil

1 1/2 cups - Sugar

1 tsp -Vanilla

1 tsp - Baking Soda

1/2 tsp - Baking Powder

1 tsp - Salt

1 Tbl - Cinnamon

3 cups - Flour

1 12 oz Package - Milk Chocolate Chips

Mix the first 5 ingredients together well.  In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients.  Combine all until well moistened.  Last, add the chocolate chips & mix evenly.

Place in greased muffin pans, or muffin cups.

Cook at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

I forgot to take a finished product picture... but trust me they are yummy! Breakfast for the week!